The cultivar name is apt: in late summer, 18-inch stems arch outward from a bushy clump of dark green foliage and burst into sprays of bright yellow flowers that really do look like fireworks caught mid-explosion. Solidago rugosa 'Fireworks' tops out at 2 to 3 feet tall and wide, behaving with far more restraint than the straight species. Its rhizomes spread slowly rather than colonizing aggressively, and in most gardens a division every three or four years is all the maintenance required to keep it tidy.

It grows best in moist, well-drained soil but tolerates both dry and wet conditions, making it adaptable across a range of garden situations. Full sun brings out the fullest bloom, and the yellow flowers pair beautifully with the blues and lavenders of fall asters or the dusty pink heads of Joe-pye weed. Leave hollow stems standing through winter at a height of 12 to 24 inches: native bees nest inside them and will emerge in spring. Deer resistant. Zones 4 to 8.